iTunes Radio has quickly become the best source for unreleased albums by huge artists, and today the service added yet another high-profile artist. Ahead of its highly anticipated release on May 19th, you can now stream Coldplay’s new album Ghost Stories in its entirety on iTunes via its First Play feature.
In the past, iTunes Radio has streamed albums by The Black Keys, Eminem, Pharrell, and Rick Ross, attempting to compete with services like Spotify and Rdio. Neither of those, however, offer any sort of early streaming capabilities like iTunes Radio.
You can stream Ghost Stories by opening iTunes on you computer or iOS device, going to iTunes Radio, and clicking the “First Play – Ghost Stories” pre made station. If that doesn’t work (it’s still rolling out), head to the actual iTunes Store, click the Coldplay banner, and then look for the First Play button.
Apple and Coldplay have had a strong relationship for several years, most recently with the British band performing at the company’s iTunes SXSW festival. Coldplay also performed at the memorial for Steve Jobs, with frontman Chris Martin telling of the band’s several encounters with Jobs.
The album itself is set to come out next week on May 19th. You can pre-order the 9-track album for $9.99. With a pre-order, you’ll get instant downloads of singles “Magic”, “Midnight”, and the Avicii-produced “A Sky Full of Stars”. The band will also premiere a live-special on NBC this Sunday, May 18th.
